Vzw Archive

There was little about the mighty Droid X that we hadn't already known -- but for what it's worth, Verizon and Motorola have teamed up today to expose everything we want to know about the next Android beast for Big Red. The 4.3-inch 854 x 480 handset features Android 2.1 with an all-new UI skin, a TI OMAP3640 processor galloping along at 1GHz, HDMI out, 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash and 720p video capture, and 8GB of onboard storage with expansion of up to 32GB (you get a 16GB card in the box) all stuffed in a package 9.9mm thick. Software wise, you've also got an integrated mobile hotspot with support for up to 5 devices connected over WiFi, DLNA support, and a legit multitouch keyboard with Swype built-in. It won't launch with Froyo, but that'll come later in the Summer as an upgrade along with Flash 10.1 support; the phone will be available on July 15 for $199.99 on contract after rebate, while the mobile hotspot service will run $20 extra a month with a 2GB cap and 5 cent per MB overage (data consumed on the phone itself is unlimited). Mirroring AT&T's move with the iPhone 4, all Verizon customers with upgrade dates in 2010 will be pulled up so they're eligible for the Droid X as soon as it's available. Follow the break for the full press release.

Today's the big day: Motorola's getting back into the high-end Android game in a big way with the launch of the Droid X on Verizon, and we're here for the official announcement. Read on for the juicy details in real time!

It took a good, long while, but AT&T has finally closed on its acquisition of the markets Verizon was required to divest in order to get the government to agree to its purchase of Alltel early last year. For most customers, the move has no practical impact -- the markets are mostly rural -- but for affected folks, it means that they'll be able to "select a device comparable to their existing device at no additional cost" as markets get upgraded over the course of the next 12 months. Interestingly, all of the markets will be getting the 3G treatment, a sharp departure from AT&T's typical strategy of keeping unpopulated areas on EDGE -- but it probably makes sense to get them up and running on 3G since the network's got to be built up from scratch anyhow. Follow the break for the full press release.

You might have figured that the recent update to Android 2.1 would've given Verizon's Droid Eris a few months of additional shelf life, but alas, it was not to be; the phone is no longer available from Verizon's online store, and we'd assume that any remaining inventory in the field will dwindle to nothingness in the coming weeks. If anything, it seems like the device -- basically a tweaked Hero -- would be able to effectively soldier on indefinitely for $50 or so on contract, but maybe the carrier's intent on keeping Android a higher-end affair for the time being. And hey, with the Droid X and Droid 2 coming any week now, we suppose it's getting pretty crowded anyhow. Ultra-cheap original Droid, anyone?

Of course, seeing how Verizon was one of the earliest and most staunch supporters of LTE in the mobile operator world, it comes as no huge shocker that Big Red has earned itself a seat on the GSM Association's 26 member- and 13 carrier-strong board of directors -- especially now that it's a full, card-carrying member of the GSMA as a whole -- but still, feels a bit weird, doesn't it? From a PR perspective, we're figuring Verizon wanted to have this wrapped up before it stages its first commercial 4G launches later this year, but at any rate, it's official: you're now welcome to call Verizon "a GSM carrier. What about you, Sprint? Follow the break for the full press release.

Verizon's got a teaser ad running for the upcoming Droid X now, but if you see it on TV and you don't have a DVR that can slow down the action, you're going to miss all the good stuff -- in fact, all you really see at full speed is a scary eye that slowly transforms into the lifeless, blood-red vision sensor of a killer robot. If you pull some freeze frames, you can make out a few specs in the reflection of the eye -- HDMI output, 8 megapixel camera, and a 4.3-inch WVGA display -- plus a reference to DROIDLanding, which turns out to be some sort of viral Twitter account. Obviously, analyzing an eyeball this closely can really have a lasting traumatic effect on an individual -- but if you insist on having a look for yourself, the full video's after the break.

Nothing new here, but at this point, Motorola's delicious duo of fresh Android phones for Verizon is leaking like... well, like a leaky faucet, we suppose. We've already got the full scoop on the keyboardless 4.3-inch Droid X -- a beast ready to take on sworn enemies from HTC like the EVO 4G and the Droid Incredible -- and we've seen plenty of details on the so-called Droid 2, too. The latter appears destined to replace the original Droid with a better keyboard layout and ever-so-gently refined ergonomics, but the latest leak from a Gizmodo tipster confirms that the cam's still 5 megapixels and it's currently running Android 2.1 atop Moto's new-look Blur (interestingly, the "Droid 2" name couldn't be confirmed). Apparently it's set for release in the "next few weeks," which would line up with rumors we've heard in the past of a launch windows somewhere between July and August -- so here's the real question: X or 2?

With the iPad unicorn now slain, what other beast can DigiTimes shackle its rumor mongering machine to? How about Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology (and inspiration for the ASUS company name), galloping forth with promises of a CDMA iPhone. According to the Taiwanese rumor rag, Pegatron (ASUStek's OEM manufacturing arm) will begin shipping a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 from its Shanghai plants to Apple in Q4. Right, just in time for the holiday shopping season and perfectly alligned with Apple's annual September iPod event... you know, should Apple want to announce a deal with Verizon.

We don't know whether this is going to be the Droid 2, the Droid X, or both, but Motorola, Google, Verizon, and Adobe -- yes, Adobe -- are all getting on stage out in New York on the 23rd of the month to announce some new Android gear. Should be exciting, so keep it locked -- because naturally, we'll be on-hand for all the festivities.

Sometimes, hackers hack without any constructive purpose -- they do it just because they can. This, however, decidedly isn't such a case; in fact, it's one of the more enviable hackjobs we've seen in recent weeks. Basically, a dude split open his 3G iPad, removed the AT&T modem, and installed the circuit board out of a Verizon MiFi, providing power from the iPad's battery and hooking in the borrowed AT&T antenna for hotspot range. The hack wasn't without its trials and tribulations -- the MiFi's green LED initially shone through the back of the iPad's display, for instance -- but ultimately, the proud owner ended up with a fully functional iPad that doubles as a Verizon WiFi hotspot. It's not exactly turnkey enough to recommend to lay folk, but at least Verizon customers can take heart knowing this kind of craziness is possible if you've got the stones for it.

Let's be honest, we've seen moreDroid X / Xtreme / Shadowspyshots than we can keep track of at this point, but for the latest batch, Mr. Blurrycam must've forgot his trademark blur filter and delivered us the cleanest images yet -- for shame, we know. Here's what the current owners of the super-secret phone, Gadget University, are claiming: 4.3-inch screen (it seems to jump between 4.3 and 4.1, depending on whom you ask), 1GHz Snapdragon processor, HDMI out, HD video recording, Android 2.1 with a "new version of Motoblur" (Ninjablur, you say?), and hardware navigation buttons. The Verizon logo is again unmistakably clear, and according to the site's "inside information," the Droid X (as the Model number says) is coming next month, with training beginning at the end of this month.

[Thanks, Sean]

Update: And here it is alongside some of its contemporaries. Thanks, Jeremey!

"Preparation is key to building the most reliable network," says Verizon's last tweet, but we hear the company wasn't prepared in Southern California -- reports are trickling in about a multi-county voice outage. Since that new Droid's not so Incredible when it can't make calls, here's hoping Verizon fixes the issue soon. We'd hate to have to call out a different carrier's name the next time someone botches a phone demo.

Update: Several Verizon customers in Ohio are complaining, too, but we also hear that So. Cal's outage might possibly / temporarily be over.

And finally, the puzzle pieces are coming together. There's been a lot of confusion the past few weeks about these two new models for Verizon in Motorola's pipeline, but by all accounts, this seems to be the A955 Droid 2 in its entirety -- the true successor to the original Droid, of course, and a distinctly different product than the more slate-like Xtreme. It looks like Moto has killed off the Droid's major pain points, giving the new model a more tactile keyboard and eliminating the nearly useless d-pad; the shiny bezel around the top half is a matter of personal opinion, but we don't think we mind it from the blurry shots we've seen.

As specs go, we're looking at a faster 750MHz OMAP core -- probably similar to the 720MHz silicon quoted in the XT720's data -- along with a 3.7-inch display, 8GB of internal storage paired with an 8GB microSD card in the box, and a 5 megapixel camera. What's missing is an HDMI port and Froyo -- current test units are said to be running 2.1, so hopefully we'll see a 2.2 upgrade in the near term. So, Droid owners: is this the golden ticket to get you to shell out another couple hundred dollars? As a bonus, follow the break for alleged video of the Droid 2's boot sequence, which shows a reworked version of the scary red droid eye we're accustomed to.

The Incredible wait is finally at an end -- HTC's finest handset on Verizon had proven quite the tough nut to crack, but at long last it has succumbed to the efforts of some industrious root-hungry coders. You should be mindful that progress is still at a very early stage, and hacking your own Incredible is said to be both "very hard" and "not very repeatable." The important thing though, is that it's happened, and we're now probably only a few days removed from a user-friendly patch that lets us truly do whatever we might want with that handsome device. They say roots are an important part of a balanced diet, and this one should go very nicely with a bit of Froyo, don't you think?

Telling the blurry spy shots apart and keeping the codenames straight as we lead up to this Android duo from Motorola for Verizon next month has been next to impossible, but we think we're getting the hang of it here. What you're looking at above is apparently the A955 Droid 2, a phone whose keyboard we saw a little while back. That's opposed to the Xtreme -- which may or may not also be known as the Shadow -- that's been leaked a handful of times in the past couple weeks and clearly looks different than the A955 from the front. If anything, the Droid 2 looks like a streamlined, possibly chromed version of the original Droid, which would make a lot of sense seeing how it's being called... well, the Droid 2. Verizon, would you please step in here, make some announcements, and clear up all this confusion?

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